The present invention relates to an assembly line in a clean room, and particularly, the present invention relates to an assembly line located in the clean room of a semiconductor assembly plant, in which a high degree of cleanliness is required.
Referring to FIG. 5, a semiconductor assembly line for manufacturing semiconductor devices is installed in a clean room 100. The assembly line includes many facilities such as a variety of manufacturing apparatuses 110 and measuring apparatuses 111 used to manufacture the semiconductor devices. The clean room is mainly made up of a first area 101 in which the apparatuses are located, and a second area 102 in which control units 120 for controlling the apparatuses are located and where workers 130 manage the control units 120. In the first area 101, generally, an automatic transport system 112, for example a transport robot, is used.
The clean room 100 requires a special high degree of cleanliness, particularly in the first area 101. Workers that enter the clean room 100 must first take an air shower while wearing dust free garments, dust free gloves, a dust free mask and clean shoes. If dust is somehow introduced into the clean room 100, the semiconductor devices manufactured in the clean room 100 may be defective.
It takes enormous cost and labor to manufacture a clean room and to maintain the cleanliness of the clean room. Particularly manufacturing and maintaining the first area 101 of the clean room is very expensive. Also, the larger the clean room, the more burdensome are the costs and labor.
The object of the invention is to provide a relatively inexpensive assembly system located in a clean room having a high degree of cleanliness.
To achieve the object, in the typical invention of the present application, a transporting enclosure arranged between first apparatus and second apparatus, all located in a clean room, is shielded from the clean room and maintained a second clean level cleaner than that of the clean room.
According to the present invention, the cleanest area, such as the first area, is minimized in the clean room. As the cleanest area which is the most expensive to manufacture, is minimized, it can be realized to manufacture the clean room more inexpensively than the conventional clean room.